The War
by All4Hiccstrid
Summary: Gumball Watterson is in the military, although...he hasn't been called to fight. what happens when he starts dating Carrie Booregard, then is forced to fight in a war that he doesn't want to? will Gumball make it back to his loved ones? or will he perish on the battlefield? read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! theShipper here, and just want to ask that you please leave a review down below, and tell me if I need to make any changes. Also, let me know how the story was! been kinda busy getting everything organized...so, hope you like it! (and I did stop my other story, Loneliness, which was an attack on titan, ErenxAnnie. I realized that I had published the same story twice, and was just as confused as you probably were as to why I did that. I now realize that the first time I published it, I forgot to send them in chapter by chapter. so, sorry about that guys!) The title for this story is Actually (The War) by the way.  
**

Chapter 1

The ghost floated out the front door to her house, then floated to the bus stop and waited for the bus. The bus stopped in front of her, and she got on. She floated past two people-Gumball and Darwin, and sat in the far back of the bus.

Gumball waved. "Hey, Carrie!"

Carrie looked at Gumball with her usual dull, expressionless eyes. Carrie Booregard didn't like her life being so painful, but she could not change the way things were in her life. Her past haunted her. She had no parents, and loathed being alone. She just wished that people would respect her for who she was. She would always think about how her parents died, no matter what she did she could not come to terms with it. She always thought that they would come back, but they never did.

It all started when she was seven years old. Carrie was sitting on the couch watching television, when her uncle came through their front door uninvited. She knew her uncle was bad news, because he would always drink and gamble, and had an aggressive attitude towards other people when they didn't listen to him. Her uncle had also been jailed several times for murder, because he just couldn't stand being told what he could not do. Her uncle was a very powerful spirit, capable of setting people on fire when he was mad. There was a book of tiers for ghosts, it had thirteen tiers. Tier one was the weakest, tier two was the ability of the power to pick up objects in the real world.

The other tiers granted power and such, at least up until tier seven. After seven, you were stepping over the boundaries for safe usage of power. Carries uncle attempted to become more powerful by traveling to the void, and becoming a tier thirteen. Instead, he became a tier eleven, and became extremely powerful. Although he was powerful, the time he spent in the void rendered him purely evil, with no feelings of remorse for anyone.

Carries father knew this, and trembled in fear when her uncle walked through the door. Carries uncle walked toward the kitchen table, and approached Mr. Booregard.

Carries Uncle: "You know what I'm here for. Like I have said many times before, you give me your daughter, and let me be her guardian, for you are not responsible enough to care for her."

Mr. Booregard: "You stay away from our daughter, your nothing but a drunk, and a lame excuse for an uncle. Besides, the only thing you have been the parent of for the last five years, is of those damn beer bottles you have been drinking."

Carrie knew her uncle was about to get aggressive. His eyes started to bulge, and he didn't say anything. He just waved his hand, and red tendrils of pure energy shot out from his fingertips, transforming into a fist, and shooting through Mr. Booregards chest, leaving a hole. Mr. Booregard fell to the floor, and didn't get back up. Her mother pointed her finger at Carries uncle, and shot a pure white bolt of energy at him. The bolt hit Carries uncle in the chest, and he was thrown back three feet, only to slam into a wall. Before Carries mother could react, Carries uncle phased through the floor, and shot up behind her, the retina of his eyes was red with the very fires of hell itself.

Carries uncle opened his hand, and from Carries view, it looked like her uncle had a flamethrower in his hand, but the scary thing was that he did not have one in his hand. The inferno of flames incinerated Carries mother to a crisp, and her uncle floated out of the house. Carrie realized that her uncle had become too tired and lazy to look for her himself, so he left.

Snapping back into reality, she realized the bus had come to a stop. They were at school, and Carrie's mind was thrown back into the present. Carrie realized that Gumball and Darwin were looking at her with confused expressions.

"Yes, may I help you boys?"

Gumball and Darwin just kept staring at her.

"Okay, I guess I'll just leave for class then."

Carrie floated through the school doors, and drifted into her class and sat down in her seat. Mrs. Simian walked into the classroom, and started taking role.

"Teri, Carrie, Penny, Masami, Gumball, Darwin, Carmen, Alan, Tobais, Banana Joe. Is that everyone? Good, everyone is here then."

"Um, your forgetting Gumball and Darwin. They are out in the hall flirting with girls."

Mrs. Simian walked out into the hall to find that Gumball was urging Darwin to come to class, but Darwin was flirting with another fish, which was the new girl, in fact. Gumball stole a quick look behind him, and came face to face with Mrs. Simian.

"Gumball and Darwin Watterson, you two get inside my classroom right this instant!"

Gumball and Darwin sprinted in the room, and sat down. Carrie was in the back, stifling a little giggle.

Carrie stopped halfway through a stifled giggle, for Mrs. Simian somehow crossed the room at alarming speed and stood by Carries desk, staring at her with an infuriated look.

"Carrie Booregard, lunch detention!"

Carrie nearly jumped out of her seat in anger.

"WHAT?! Seriously, I just giggled, is that a crime now?"

Mrs. Simian gave her a furious look.

"No, because you giggled at someone's mistake they just made a few seconds ago, And I'm sure you have your own problems, being a parentless child!"

Carrie struggled to hold back tears, even though all of her hatred was aimed at Mrs. Simian. Honestly, if Gumball hadn't stepped in, she would had punched Mrs. Simian back to the nineteen hundreds. Gumball jumped up out of his desk, and looked menacingly at Mrs. Simian.

"Mrs. Simian, I suggest you get out of this classroom, because it looks like if you don't leave, then were going to have a situation on our hands here, because if I last recall, you had some issues with principal Brown."

Carrie then watched as Gumball ran out of the room, with Mrs. Simian following close behind, waving her arms in a rampage. She could hear Gumball yell from outside the classroom. "SOMEONES GOT A LAWSUIT ON THEIR HANDS!" with a jolt, she realized that _someone_ , that someone being _Gumball Watterson_ -no less, had defended her when all the other kids just laughed and watched as Carrie got harassed. She realized that she was falling for him, and it was only a matter of time before she would get distracted every time he walked in the school, or when she saw him outside of school. She knew that she needed some help from a guy like Gumball.

Gumball arrived at school the next day, and noticed Carrie sitting alone at the back of the cafeteria. As he approached, Carrie looked his way.

Carrie: "What do you want, Gumball?"

Gumball gave her a knowing look, and said "I realize that you needed a friend. So, what's been bothering you lately? Is there something you would like to tell me?" Gumball looked at her with a look of kittenish curiosity.

Carrie suddenly turned to him. "Gumball, look, I know you are trying to be nice to me, and that you want to help me out, but if you helped me, then your life would become as sad as mine. Nobody would want to hang out with you, because you would be hanging out with me."

Gumball looked at her with an astonished look. Gumball: "Me, hanging out with you would make my life depressing? Look, Carrie I know that life is hard, but if you keep on rejecting what life offers, you will never get to experience new things, and accept that there are bad memories that haunt you. You need to let go, and let life take over. Accept what it has to offer."

Carrie looked at Gumball with sad eyes. "That's not why I'm sad. I never told anybody, but it's my past that keeps bringing me down. Every morning I wake up and expect them to be there to take care of me, but every time no one is there."

She looked up to see if Gumball was listening.

Gumball turned to her with a weird expression. "Wait, you are talking about your parents, right?" Carrie sighed. "Yes, I'm talking about my parents, Gumball."

They sat in silence for several minutes. Carrie was zoned out, while Gumball just sat there, waiting to see if she said anything else. Carrie was questioning herself, and wondering if she made a mistake, or if it was gods decision for her parents to die. It didn't seem right. Did she have to suffer for something that could have been caused by her mistakes? She was struck by a feeling of loneliness, and the unwillingness to live on. The only problem was that she couldn't kill herself…literally. For she was already dead, and was just a spirit.

Gumball watched as Carrie sat there silently, fighting with herself, until the bell rang. As they walked to their first period class, Gumball never noticed that Carrie had walked out of the school doors and go home, for he was being berated by Mrs. Simian for being late to class. Carrie floated through the front door to her house, and turned on the light. For the first time, Carrie saw the truth. She realized that she had clouded her mind with accusations that she had caused her parents death. Now, it was clear. Her uncle was the reason for her parents to die. For he had been jealous, and killed them.

Maybe it was that Gumball was crazy, or it was that he was just a psycho. For our blue cat was running around the school in a frantic rush to find Carrie. Eventually, all he found was his brother Darwin, who he _somehow_ kept on running into lately.

Darwin gave his brother a look. "Dude, I think your freaking out a little too much."

Gumball turned to look at his brother. "Freaking out-What? No,no,no. I'm not freaking out, it's just that Carrie is probably out there somewhere, while I'm stuck here with you."

Gumball ran off and Darwin stood there, rolling his eyes.

Tobias walked up to Darwin. "Dude, he's acting like he's ate something bad. what could cause that?"

Darwin turned to look at Tobias. "Mrs. Simian, probably."

Tobais had a grin stuck on his face, and it was _not_ going anywhere. "Yup. That would do it."

Mrs. Simian was eavesdropping on their conversation and crept up on Tobais while he was talking. "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

Tobias turned to look at Darwin for help. I hate to say it, but Darwin ran off the moment Mrs. Simian showed up. Tobais looked back at Mrs. Simian, and mumbled just loud enough for her to hear. "Nothin." Then took off. It took Mrs. Simian a couple of seconds to realize that Tobais ran off. she just stood there and scratched her head. She wondered where Gumball was, because he was never far from his brother. She knew those two were inseparable. She soon got her answer. Gumball ran past her in his underwear. "GUMBALL WATTERSON!" the cycle had begun.


	2. Chapter 2

**theShipper here! just want to mention that I dont have a image manager profile for my story. I would like to apologize for that. criticism is okay, because this is now my second story I am publishing. Be sure to leave a review down below. Have not been getting a lot of reviews lately, and its starting to make me think I've done something wrong while writing my story. anyway, that's all I wanted to say before I start typing.(one more thing. it will be a few more chapters until Gumball is forced to fight. I might or might not put it in the next chapter. I dont know really, to be honest with you.)  
**

Chapter 2

Gumball ran down the hall with Mrs. Simian slowly closing in on him from behind. As he rounded the corner, he ran through a somewhat redeemed Carrie.

He looked back, shock on his face. "Carrie! where have you been?!"

Carrie turned around and yelled. "I WAS AT HOME!"

She was wondering why Gumball was running in the halls at top speed. Yeah, she saw he was only in his underwear, but for Gumball, that was natural. she was still thinking when Mrs. Simian flew right through her. She put two and two together, and realized that Gumball probably pissed her off somehow.

Carrie shook her head, then continued to walk to class, when Darwin rounded the corner as well, and rushed through a thoroughly disturbed Carrie.

She stopped to give Darwin a menacing look. "JEEZ, DARWIN! that's the second time today!"

Darwin held his hands up in defense. "Sorry, Carrie, didn't see you there." Carrie stopped,as a wave of sadness washed over her. She realized that a lot of people had barely acknowledged her throughout the day so far.

Darwin "Where's Gumball?"

Carrie rolled her eyes. "If you want to find him, just walk down the halls and look for a screaming ape, and a blue cat on the run."

Darwin nodded his head and took off.

The next day, Carrie had arrived at school, and took a seat in her chair. several minutes passed, and she grunted in frustration. She was bored out of her mind, and was not feeling too great. She listened to Mrs. Simian drone on about sex ed...and _boy_ -was it annoying. She heard the door open, and looked to see Gumball walk inside. He took a seat next to her, ignoring the piercing glare Mrs. Simian was giving him.

She wondered why Gumball was sitting next to her, for most of the class was giving him weird looks. Even Darwin, his adoptive brother-was giving him this confused look. She didn't know why he sat next to her. Maybe he was still half asleep, and accidentally sat next to her. She decided to ignore him and pay attention to what Mrs. Simian was saying. As she listened she could hear something about increased pregnancies, and how to prevent it from happening. She saw Gumball raise his hand, and knew that whatever he was about to inquire would probably be something outrageously stupid.

Mrs. Simian noticed his raised hand, and growled under her breath in annoyance. "What is it, _Watterson_?"

Gumball waited a second or two before speaking. Carrie could see that he was nervous, and kept on giving glances in her direction. "Um...how do ghost get pregnant?"

Mrs. Simian stood there in silence for a few minutes, watching Gumball squirm uncomfortably in delight. Finally, she spoke. "If you want to know the answer to that question, why don't you just ask Carrie? she's a ghost. Now if you don't mind...I have a class to teach."

Carrie watched as Gumball started writing on a blank piece of paper, then handed it to her. She was confused. Why would he want to know how ghost got pregnant? she picked up the letter Gumball had passed to her, and started to read it quietly to herself. " _Do you know how ghosts get pregnant? I wrote this to you, because...well, your the only ghost I know who goes to this school, let alone has a class with me."_

She sent Gumball an irritated look, and hit him in the head with the note he gave her. "Mind your own damn business, Gumball."

Gumballs ears drooped when he heard her say that. He had thought he became friends with her after "hanging" out for a few days. What he did not realize, was that she did that on purpose. She knew how determined Gumball could be...and with the stupid games he and his brother were so dedicated to when they were younger, would make it even better. She knew that he would become dedicated to hanging out with her, and although it was a cruel way to play with his feelings. However, in the end, she couldn't help but feel bad.

Carrie soon found herself walking to her fourth period class, gym. She arrived to find Gumball and a few others in the far right corner of the gym. She found herself turning red when she saw his rippling muscles. Gumball noticed she was turning red, and left the bench to go over to her.

"Hey, why are you turning red?"

Carrie turned to look in the other direction, and refused to make eye contact with Gumball. She had no idea that Gumball worked out so much. As she thought about it, she realized she never saw him without a long-sleeve camo shirt on that had a few badges on it, along with the rank of a lieutenant. She didn't think it was anything special.

"Nothing. What do you want Gumball?"

Gumball gave her a little smile, And Carrie stood there...feeling uncomfortable. The coach broke the awkward silence by announcing that everyone needed to get into teams, and fast.

Gumball had the first pick, and he chose Carrie, and his fellow friends. He also chose his war buddy Martin, who was the same height as Gumball, and was wearing similar clothing, except his badge told her that he was a sergeant. Everyone lined up on opposite sides of the basketball court, and took their positions. The coach blew the whistle, and both sides charged to the center of the court. Too late..It was dodgeball, as Carrie realized to her dissatisfaction.

In mere seconds, most of her team had been wiped out. The opposing side only had Tina, the giant six-foot T-rex, and on the other side was Gumball. She watched as Gumball smiled at Tina, then threw a dodgeball directly at Tina's feet with tremendous force behind it. Tina stood no chance. Carrie watched As Tina was swept off of her feet and land with a thud on the court.

Carrie decided to meet up with Gumball after gym. She could hide her feelings no longer. She liked the fact that he came to help her when nobody else would. she also admired the fact that he tried to be with her, even though she didn't want anybody involved in her life.

She followed Gumball out into the hall, and caught up to him. She slipped her hand into his, shocked as sparks of warmth and comfort shot through her. Her heart beat like a hammer, and she was sure he could hear it.

Gumball was confused. He saw Carrie turn red, if that was even possible of a ghost, and she started speaking to him. He didn't hear most of what she said, but he did hear her ask him out. He muttered an incoherent "yes" and was engulfed into a hug by Carrie. He never told her this, but he had a crush on her for a long time now. He just never had the courage to go ask her out.

The next morning, Carrie took Gumballs hand, and together, they walked to their first period class. She was uncomfortable holding a guys hand, but it was comforting to know that he cared. She saw that he was still a little dazed from her outburst yesterday.

Gumball decided to take Carrie on a nice stroll through the park, and called her up. He eventually had managed to overcome his shock of being asked out by Carrie, and was now more used to holding her hand during class, and giving her the occasional peck on the cheek. When they arrived, Gumball got a call on a radio that he always carried around with him, much to Mrs. Simians displeasure. His squadmate, Martin could be heard talking through the radio. He went to answer it, as Carrie stood by and watched.

He turned to look at Carrie, a disturbed look displayed across his face. "It would seem my squad and I have been called to fight. Don't worry, I'll come back in one piece."

When Carrie entered the classroom without Gumball the next day, everyone seemed to have heard the news. They started talking to her, somehow knowing that Gumball was now her boyfriend, and wanted to let her know that he was the toughest son of a bitch the school had ever known. She wasn't convinced. In fact, she was scared for Gumball.


	3. Chapter 3

**sorry for the wait. its been a long week. I had final exams. It's theShipper(AKA All4Hiccstrid) here, going to post chapter three. hope you enjoy it! (they are in high school.)**

Chapter 3

Gumball was riding backseat of the military jeep for what seemed like forever. Eventually, they stopped, six-hundred and thirty miles from Elmore to arrive in a town that had been attacked by Taliban troops. As Gumball looked, he saw dead marines everywhere. Gumball and his squad mates looked to their left. There was an American jeep, just like theirs, except it was on fire, and there were several burnt bodies of marines lying around it. Gumball looked straight ahead to see a marine slumped over a pile of rubble, with his gun still gripped tightly in his hands. Gumballs squad leader took immediate action.

"Boys! Get out of the jeep, and scout the area. Keep your eyes peeled! We don't want to end up like those poor sods over there!"

Gumball knew the squad leader called the marines boys because he didn't know their names, except for his.

"Gumball, and one marine, Stay by the jeep! Gumball, I want you two to gather around the jeep! See areas that our gunner can't see. If you are attacked, don't wait calling for backup, because we'll already be on our way! If you see any enemy soldiers, you tell our gunner to rain down fire that way. if he can't see the enemy, you might not either! Gunner, you are lieutenant Gumballs eyes, and lieutenant, you are his eyes! Now get into position!"

Gumball sprinted to the jeep, and his partner hopped on the and started checking for enemy targets. Gumballs squad leader split up the other marines into pairs of three. There were twenty-four marines in Gumballs squad, they all didn't fit in a single jeep. Most of them walked. And Gumball realized why it seemed to take forever to get to their destination. the gunner spoke.

"hey, man. Have you done this before? Because I haven't."

Gumball knew he had been in a few firefights before, and it was scary.

"yeah, I have done this before. But when and if the bullets start flying, whatever you do, don't freak out. Oh, and keep you head down too. Do that and you'll do just fine. Although, since you are manning the , you won't be able to keep your head down. But I wouldn't worry too much. Your sitting behind some heavy firepower, and are most likely to efficiently mow down the enemy. And that metal plate surrounding the gun and covering your face from view should protect you from getting shot in the head."

the gunner gave him a confused look. "yeah, but what about from behind?" Gumball had some advice for the marine about that too. "just don't stay shooting in one direction for long. I'd say give them a good ten second burst, then swivel around to your six, and give another ten second burst. I will also be covering you from behind so you should be fine."

Gumball thought of what Carrie might be thinking, and whether not he would make it back to her in one piece, or not at all. Just then, the gunner called out to him. "lieutenant? There is something moving over there, in between those two buildings." Gumball wondered why the marine told him this information, then he realized that he was a lieutenant, and that he outranked the marine, who was a private. Gumball snapped to attention.

"Okay marine, point the at that spot. Ill check it out. If you see so much as a barrel of a gun poke out at me, light the bastard up." The gunner gave a nervous nod. "gotcha, lieutenant." Gumball grabbed his rifle, and pointed it at the disturbance, he slowly walked forward several feet, then stopped.

"Come out! We saw you. If you're an enemy, then I have no doubt that my friend here manning the would gladly light your happy ass on fire. If you're not an enemy, then you have ten seconds to come out with your hands up!" What Gumball didn't know, was that there were several Taliban troops hiding behind the building, and they had a devious plan.

Gumball watched as a militia soldier walked out of the shadows, then he watched as the tip of a gun barrel poked out from beneath the militia soldiers jacket. Gumball reacted with a smooth and practiced attack. Gumball smoothly brought his gun up to his waist level, fired off three rounds, and the militia soldier dropped dead. Then Gumball was forced to run into cover, as other Taliban soldiers ran out from hiding, and fired rounds from AK47's. Gumball ran into cover just in time. However, the Taliban soldiers weren't so lucky. Gumballs partner peppered the Taliban soldiers with a hail of bullets, then watched as the enemy soldiers dropped dead. Gumball then ran to his partner's side, and grabbed his light machine gun, and mounted it on the side of the jeep, facing where the enemy soldiers came from. Gumball heard voices from behind, and to the sides. He and his partner turned to the source of the noises, and saw his squad leader approaching from a distance.

Squad leader "What happened?! We all heard machine gun fire. Oh, I see. You found the enemy. Looks like you slaughtered them all by yourselves. Very well, I'm leaving a third marine with you two, in case a bigger force comes along. You'll need the extra firepower." Gumball held back a snarl. He didn't want to oversee any more marines than he already had. Gumball "thank you sir, I'll radio you if we see a large group. That way we can perhaps get a prisoner, and ask him where everyone is in this deserted town." Gumballs squad leader thankfully accepted his stratagem, and called the other marines to continue scouting. Gumball took the time to talk to the additional marine that just joined them. "marine! Have you been in combat before?" marine "yes lieutenant, sir!" Gumball was pleased to hear this, for he was tired from the adrenaline rush from the firefight that happened recently. Gumball radioed his squad leader, and asked for five more marines, as things were heating up in his area. People started showing up, and walked around the jeep, too close for Gumballs comfort. Gumball "sir, I need five more marines over here stat. The streets just got crowded, and I don't know who is hostile." Squad leader "copy that lieutenant, sending five marines to you now.

Gumball knew that he had to act fast. He told his two marines to shoot at the feet of any civilian who got too close, and that if the crowd resorted to violence, to toss flashbangs, then shoot in the air. The five marines arrived on the scene ten minutes later, and Gumball wasted no time setting them in a defensive circle around the military jeep. Gumball held the position for three days. He missed Carrie back at home, and wondered if he would ever see her again. Although they had been dating for four weeks, he wondered; had she had found another man and given up hope that he would ever return? Then he realized that that was preposterous, because he was the only one she loved. Gumball shook thoughts of Carrie out if his head, and focused on his task ahead. Back at the Watterson's house, Carrie was sitting on Gumballs bed, and chewed on her ghostly fingernails. She hadn't said anything for three days, and it was worrying Gumballs brother, Darwin. Gumballs mother poked her head through the door. "Carrie sweetie, do you want something to eat?" Carrie "no thanks Mrs. Watterson, I'm good. I just need some rest." Gumballs mother left the room. Darwin hopped into his fishbowl for the night, and the instant he hit the water, he was fast asleep. Carrie was just confused and depressed, and filled with anxiety. Carrie was afraid, and the only thing on her mind for the past three days was; would Gumball ever make it back?

Gumball grew tired of keeping civilians away from the military jeep. Gumball radioed his squad leader, and got no response. Gumball began to worry. Gumball "okay boys, start up the jeep, were going to find the squad leader." Five marines hopped in the jeep, and three of them walked beside it. The marines pace was slow, but five minutes later, Gumball arrived at his squad leaders last known position. Gumball and the marines saw a massacre. Gumballs squad leaders body was riddled with bullet holes, and the wounds were still fresh. Gumball sent the three men around the jeep, and the jeep gunner to stay put. He then got the other three marines scout out the area with him. They arrived at a school, and Gumball ordered a door charge to be placed, and the door blown off its hinges. Gumball pressed the detonator, and the door blew open. Gumball "GO! GO! GO! clear the area! You two marines, stay out here and make sure no one comes in or out!" Gumball and another marine rushed in, guns sweeping the area. They lowered their guns, because all Gumball saw was a bunch of school students, looking at them like they were stupid or something.

Gumball realized that they had just invaded a school. However, he was confused. Why was there school going on in the middle of a war-torn town? Something wasn't right, and Gumball was going to figure out why. Marine "um, Lieutenant, their just kids." Gumball "I know, but that's not right. There shouldn't be school in procession during war." Gumball's radio turned on, and they all heard series of gunfire and explosions. Radio "Lieutenant! We've got enemy troops! a LOT of enemy troops! Now look, I don't know if you're having a tea party over there, but we could use some help!" as Gumball listened, another marines voice spoke "Lieutenant! We cannot hold much longer! the bastards destroyed the machine gun, and now we are fighting them off from all angles! If you came in from the side, and cleared a path, we could fall back to you!" Gumball "were on our way, we will clear a path, then you fall back, we'll fight them off inside the school! Are there any other friendly's in the vicinity?" marine "no sir! We are the only team in the area! Well, we are what remains of it!" Gumball understood now that if he lost any more marines, that they would be overrun by enemy soldiers.

Gumball commanded the three marines to follow him. Gumball raised his assault rifle, and sprinted towards the gunfire. When he arrived on scene, his three marines were in a Y formation, popping up every now and then, shooting a few bursts that killed at least two enemy soldiers, then they ducked their heads as a shitload of gunfire hit the sandbags they were hiding behind. Gumball looked around and took stock of the situation. From what he could tell, there were at least one-hundred and twenty enemy soldiers. Gumball "you two marines, get behind that short wall sticking up out of the ground, and pull out your m60's and lay waste to the enemy! You! Marine, we are going to rush to our dear friends in the middle there, and make sure that they walk out of here alive. Let's go!" Gumball rushed into the hail of bullets, and was, by some miracle, not hit. Gumball and the marine vaulted over the sandbags, and popped up, firing shot after shot from their rifles. Gumball watched as he emptied a clip, without missing one target, as ten enemy soldiers fell down dead. Gumball then grabbed got the attention of his five marines, and as one, they got up and ran towards the nearest building, spraying bullets as they went. Gumball was worried. He had never commanded men before, and the battles that he fought where simple firefights, not full-scale war. Here, he was outnumbered and surrounded in a hostile town.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Carrie was getting frustrated at Gumball for leaving her so quickly, and she hated the fact that he was forced to fight in a war that he didn't want to fight. Carrie knew that Gumball had been in a few firefights before, she heard people talk about it in school. Carrie knew if she sat around any longer, she would freak out and start to break things in Gumballs house. She walked downstairs, and saw Darwin, Anais, Richard, and Gumballs mother sitting on the couch watching the news. Gumballs mother's ears twitched, (meaning she heard something) and she turned around.

"oh, hello Carrie, do you want to sit down and watch the news with us?"

Carrie had to think for a few seconds, and finally agreed to sit down. As soon as she did, the news channel showed the war efforts, and how the US military was doing. News reporter

"it has now become clear to us that several marine forces have been demolished by enemy forces. However, one marines strike force unit was able to get into a demolished town and secure it. Though, now reports are saying now, that the marines were ambushed and were mostly wiped out. A still active predator drone shows that there is one Lieutenant leading seven marines through the war-torn town, and are now trying to find reinforcements to aid them. As of now, the military has sent five units of marines to move in on foot and reinforce the stranded marines."

Carrie could not believe what she heard. A Lieutenant? Gumball was a Lieutenant, and Carrie could now believe that he could be Gumball, stranded in the war-torn town. Carrie looked at Gumballs family, and could tell that they were thinking the same thing. Darwin looked at Carrie.

"I'm sure my brother is fine, Carrie, he's had his fair share of hand to hand combat. Besides, Gumball has fought seven security guards at the mall and won. So, if they do get overrun and Gumball is there, he'll be the last one to go down fighting."

Carrie looked at him with an angry look.

"DARWIN! That doesn't help me right now!"

Darwin scurried out of the room and ran upstairs. "DO NOT HURT ME!" Carrie rolled her eyes. Gumballs mother looked at Carrie, her eyes full of sympathy.

"Oh, Carrie, I'm sure my son will be fine."

However, Carrie wasn't so sure. Gumballs mother was trying to make everything seem better, but she was nervous and worried as well. she nodded.

"Ok, I'll go lie down for a bit and try to relax."

Carrie walked up the stairs and almost tripped on Darwin, who was listening to their conversation. She gave him a icy glare.

"Hey Darwin, eavesdropping?"

Darwin didn't say anything, but he rushed to the safety of his fish bowl. Carrie watched him go with a sigh. She didn't know why Darwin was acting like this.

Meanwhile, Gumball and his fellow marines had regrouped with a squad of marines that showed up. He and his marines found them fighting for their lives, and pinned down by two machine guns being fired at them. His marines snuck behind the machine guns and literally tore the enemy soldiers apart with their bare hands. They were not in the greatest mood, having spent several days in this warzone which they considered hell. Gumball walked up to the general of the marine unit.

"So, are we being pulled out of combat general? My men and I have had enough being in this kill box." general "what? No Lieutenant! You're to stay here and drive these bastards out with the reinforcements. That is, when and if they ever show up." Gumball was infuriated, but did not say anything, for he was only a Lieutenant. He decided to say something else. "general, if the other reinforcements show up, then can we go home for a week to get rest, then head back with more reinforcements?"

The general thought about it for a few minutes, then agreed to let Gumball and his marines go home. After all, they had been in the town fighting for their lives, staying up all day and night, crawling through mud and dirt, were almost out of ammo, and not to mention were tired and hungry. On top of that, over half of their force got wiped out, and they rescued him and his marines when they were severely outnumbered, and about to drop from exhaustion. Gumball went to tell his marines, and they piled up into the jeep, all squishing in, and drove back to Elmore. Gumball couldn't wait to see Carrie again, then he remembered that it was only for a day. Carrie was sitting inside, on the verge of tears, when a jeep pulled into their driveway. It had a machine gun on it, that was broken. Live bullets were stuck in the two-inch thick armor plating and inside of the jeep, eight exhausted marines sat, and Carrie could see that several of them were fast asleep. Carrie heard Gumballs mother talking loudly with someone at the front door. "Gumball! Your alive! Thank goodness, I almost was going to march into that town and get you myself!" Gumball looked at his mother.

"Mom, me and my men have been through hell and back. Can the other marines stay here for the day?"

Gumballs mother looked at him, confusion forming across her face. "a week? I thought you were staying for good." Gumball looked at his mother with a sad look. "No, me and my marines have one day to rest, resupply our ammo, and bring more soldiers back to that hellhole of a town with us."

Carrie was at the top of the stairs, crying as she listened to their conversation. She was scared that Gumball and his marines had to go back into the town they barely made it out of alive. Carrie could not contain her need to speak to Gumball anymore. Carrie rushed down the stairs, and slammed into Gumball with a massive force that only a ghost could achieve. Gumball was thrown back several feet, caught in a crushing bear hug. Gumball looked down and saw Carrie crushing him with her ghostly hug. Gumball "Carrie! I can only stay for a week. Generals orders." Carrie smiled sadly at him.

"I know, Gumball. I heard your conversation."

Gumball just sat there for several moments, enjoying the fact that Carrie was hugging him tightly.

"Ok, Carrie, you need to share hugs for my family."

Carrie blushed, and let go of him. Gumball was getting hugged by his family, when he remembered about his fellow marines. Gumball "Excuse me guys, I have to let my marines in here so they can rest and eat." Gumballs mother understood.

"Okay sweetie, I'll go cook a big dinner after your marine's rest."

Gumball walked outside. He now knew some of the marine's names.

"Okay boys, come on in! oh, and john, wake up those three. They'll be more comfortable in an actual bed."

John nodded, and went to go wake the three marines up from their deep slumber.

Gumball went up to his room, and found that Carrie was fast asleep on his bed. Gumball laid down beside her, and after feeling how soft his mattress was, he fell into a deep slumber. Gumball woke up two days later, and realized just how badly he needed his beauty sleep. He looked beside him, and saw that Carrie was purring softly in her sleep. Gumball didn't know ghosts could do that, but he liked hearing her purr. It gave him a sense of peace, and tranquility, and made him forget about the demolished town he was just in four days ago, fighting for his life. Then he remembered that his marines needed to resupply their ammo, and get as much rest as possible, then two days before they had to leave, he would get reinforcements. Gumball walked downstairs, and saw his marines sprawled all over the couch, and some were asleep on the soft carpeted floor. Gumball smiled, it was just like the war had never happened.

Gumball looked at his dad, Richard. Richard was standing by the couch with a sad face, because he couldn't sit on the couch. Gumball knew that his dad always sat on the couch and watched TV, because he has never been allowed to have a job. Gumball remembered the last time he had a job as a pizza delivery. He got fired because he would eat half of the pizza, then give it to the customer. Eventually, he got caught, and that's why he has never had a job since. Though, he did like his couch. Gumball woke up his marines, who were well rested, and made them some breakfast. Gumball

"Okay boys, we are going to the Elmore military base to get our guns checked, and more ammo. We will also bring MRE's this time, because last time, john stole some kid's protein bar at the school, while we were being attacked. However, what's worse is that john didn't share it with us. So, we are going in ten minutes."

The marines started to pack their things, and at Gumballs order, piled into the jeep. A Marine moved next to him.

"Lieutenant, sir. Are we going to get a bigger jeep?"

Gumball thought about the question for a second. "yes, yes, we are in fact, going to get a bigger jeep, with more armor, and plenty of room, with plush seat cushions." All the marines cheered at this. They were tired of sitting on rock hard leather seats.

Gumball stopped at the Elmore military base. Gumball "requesting permission to enter military base for weapon check, jeep replacement, MRE's and fresh ammo." The marine at the checkout granted Gumball permission to pass through. Gumball looked around the place. There were military jeeps all around, with marines scurrying from one location to the other, there was guard towers placed here and there, with two marines in each tower, with one manning an MG, while the other was a sniper. Gumball parked their jeep in the hangar, and him and his marines did their duties, and left to get more marines for his squad. Gumball and his twenty-three marines left Elmore's military base with one lightly armored military jeep, and one heavily armored military jeep, able to carry all twenty-four marines. Gumball drove up to his house, and set up large military tents for the marines in the backyard. Gumballs mother was happy with this, because eight marines took up an awful lot of space in the house. Gumball and his marines stayed there for four more days. On the last day, Gumball walked up to Carrie, and kissed him goodbye, and told her that he would write letters, and for her to write to him if she could.

Gumball took his marines out to the jeeps, and drove to his house. As Gumball was a block from his house, gunfire erupted from right behind him. Gumball

"CEASE FIRE, MARINE! The enemy hasn't reached Elmore yet!"

the marine ceased fire, then gave gumball a look.

"Yeah, Lieutenant. If there aren't any enemy soldiers in Elmore yet, then how do you explain the RPG's and MG's on the roof of that building with all of the dead enemy soldiers that I just shot?"

Gumball stopped the jeep, and turned to look behind him. "oh, shit! Marine driving the second jeep, drive to my house, and all twelve of you guard my family and house! I and my eleven marines will fight them here!" the marine Inside the second jeep nodded to Gumball and took off toward his house. The marine got to Gumballs house, and saw that there were seven Taliban soldiers kicking at Gumballs front door. The marine nodded to the gunner, and the gunner rained hellfire on the seven Taliban soldiers. When the marines kicked open the door, Gumballs family was nowhere to be found. The marine radioed Gumball. "uh, sir?" Gumball "did you secure the house? SHIT! GRENADE! Well, pick it up and throw it back you asshole! Times ticking away, you know. Okay, so did you secure the house?" the marine paused. "sir, we can't find them. They must have hidden in the house. Though, we did kill several Taliban soldiers."


	5. Chapter 5

chapter 5

Gumball couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Marine, there is a secret door in my house, it is under the stairs. Push on the wall that supports the stairs, and it should open. But say that you are marines before you open the door."

the marine nodded. "yes sir." The marine sent two of his men to stand guard by the door in case of an attack. shouting could be heard in the distance.

"Were coming in! friendly's marine core!"

The marine pushed on the wall, and it opened. The marine signaled to the men kneeling next to him.

"Go inside boys, it's dark so use your flashlights."

The marines slowly made their way down the steps, and one stopped at the bottom, and took a knee, with his flashlight pointing in the center of the huge room. The other marines piled into the room, while seven marines stayed in the upper part of the house, forming a perimeter defense. Back inside the house, the marine was looking at a dusty, cobwebbed, and damp hiding room. One of the marines spotted a shadow run past.

"Sir, something just moved past me."

The lead marine stopped, and spun around, his gun aimed right behind him. "hello? Show yourself! This is our only warning. After that we will be forced to shoot." As the marines watched, Gumballs family and girlfriend walked out of the shadows. Gumballs mother "marines? Thank goodness! There were men kicking down our door, then we heard loud gunfire, then more kicking, then a door opening." The lead marine sighed. "that was us mam. We killed seven Taliban soldiers trying to kick down your door."

Gumballs mother was shocked that the enemy had reached Elmore so quickly. The marines radio came on, and everyone heard just how much gunfire was in the background. Gumball "MARINE! I need you to get my family out of here! There are too many Taliban soldiers! Send reinforcements! Tell them I have two wounded marines, and that we need a chopper gunner to give a strafing run on the building beside the Elmore bank! And while you're getting my family to safety, would you mind driving past us, and give some fire support as you go by!" marine "acknowledged sir!" the marine turned to Gumballs family. "get in the jeep, and keep your heads down, unless you want a bullet to fly through your head!" Gumballs mother "what are you going to do, shoot us, you moron?" marine "mam, if you want to poke your head up as we drive by, be my guest and get a bullet through the head by a Taliban soldier. And when I have to tell Gumball how you died, it will make you look stupid, depending on the fact that I specifically told you to keep your heads down." Gumballs mother was surprised that this young marine did not cower in fear when she threatened him. The marine moved his men to the heavily armored jeep, and they all piled on. There was plenty of room for five more people, and the lead marine had his men in the back pick up light machine guns, and mount them on the railing.

The marine fired up the engine, and took off toward Gumballs location. As the jeep sped around a corner, Gumball and his marines came into view. Gumball had his M16, and was burning through magazine rounds, while kneeling protectively over his wounded marines. The jeep's gunner and the men with light machine guns lit up the air with additional gunfire, as the bullets flew from their guns. The marines watched as the bullets, tore into the enemy, ripping flesh, limbs, and almost blowing off a piece of Taliban soldiers brain. The lead marine stopped the jeep, and ordered three of his men to stay with Gumball and help him fight off the Taliban soldiers. Then he drove off to find reinforcements, and to see if he couldn't get an airstrike on that building.

Gumball was kneeling over his two wounded marines, as bullets flew past him and slammed into the ground. His other marines were crouching behind debree, and anything they could find. The three marines that just hopped out of the jeep, ran to where Gumball was, and swan dived into the ground beside him. Gumball observed them as they set up their gun stock's, then proceeded to watch as they put suppressing fire on the enemy. Gumball used the suppressing fire to get his wounded marines behind some debree. Gumball looked around, and saw a small building with one small window. Gumball dragged his two bleeding marines into the small building, and grabbed a chair, then set it up against the wall underneath the window, and put one knee on the chair, and started shooting out of the window. After emptying several clips, Gumball stopped firing. He knelt beside the two wounded marines, and grabbed their pistols out of their holsters, then grabbed all their pistol ammo, and split it evenly with each marine, so they could defend themselves.

Gumball knew that they needed medical attention right away, because they were bleeding out small several streams of blood each minute that passed. Gumball ran out of the building, grabbed a dead Taliban soldier, and dragged him back into the house. He then proceeded to take off the dead soldiers Keffiyeh (known as a robe the Tuscans wore in the desert) and cut it into arm length size strips. Gumball wrapped the strips tightly around his fellow marine's wounds, and tightened it to where it would stay. Gumball noticed that it seemed to stop the bleeding. Gumball heard footsteps, and spun around, his rifle focused on the only way into the building. Gumball turned away as the door burst open, and the wounded marines on the ground beside Gumball fired two three round bursts and killed three Taliban soldiers that were stupid enough to rush blindly into the building. Gumball looked out and saw that the Taliban soldiers had killed four of his men outside, and the remaining eight marines were falling back to his position in the building.

Gumball knew they had to fall back. The enemy was too strong, and the marines knew it. They just didn't have the forces necessary to hold a position long enough to get a sizable force set up, and make a counterattack. Gumball looked out of the window, and saw their jeep get peppered by gunfire. Gumball "ok boys, we have to run for it. I want you two to carry the wounded over your shoulders, and we'll provide cover fire. Got it?" the two marines nodded, and lifted the wounded over their shoulders. Gumball got positioned in the window, and started firing short accurate bursts of gunfire. The other marines ran outside, and started shooting at the enemy. Gumball watched as his fellow marines got to safety, then got ready to leave the building. Before Gumball could leave, the Taliban soldiers blocked the escape, and Gumballs marines took off in the jeep on Gumballs orders. Gumballs fellow marines looked back one last time at the Lieutenant, who they considered one of the bravest men they had ever met, and the man who got them through hell and back. They watched as Gumball fired a three-round burst into the Taliban soldiers rushing into the small building, then Gumball flipped an enemy soldier, then smashed his face in with the butt of his rifle. Then they watched as Gumball swung his rifle around sharply to the right, and killed two enemy soldiers with one swing. Gumball continued to use his rifle as a club, killing seven more enemy soldiers before being stabbed through the stomach with a machete. Gumball slumped to the ground, unable to move. He was left for dead by the enemy soldiers, all alone.

The marines caught up with the other jeep carrying Gumballs family two hours later. Carrie saw the battered military jeep pull up in beside them. She frantically looked for Gumball, as did Gumballs family. Gumballs mother "where is my son?" the marines bowed their heads, and looked sadly at Gumballs family. Marine "I'm sorry mam. Your son was a courageous soldier. He got cut off by enemy soldiers while trying to reach us in the jeep. He made sure that the rest of us marines got out of there first. We watched him massacre a good deal of enemy soldiers before he met a gruesome end by an enemy plunging a machete through his stomach." Gumballs family could not believe that Gumball, the boy who always brought happiness into the family's life, was dead by a horde of Taliban soldiers overrunning the building he was in, and killing him. Carrie "are you sure he's dead?" the marine looked at her. "your boyfriend was a tough son of a bitch, but not even the toughest soldier could survive a twelve-inch machete through their stomach and somehow crawls away from it alive. He would have bled out, unless the wound isn't as bad as we thought it was." Carrie refused to believe that Gumball was dead, no matter what the marines told her how impossible it was to survive a wound like his.

Gumball was slumped up against the wall, blood oozing out ever so slowly. The moment after Gumball received that terrible blow, he dared not to remove the machete from his stomach, worried that his intestines would fall out. Gumball found a canteen, and poured the remaining water inside over his wound. He saw that the machete did not go through his entire body, and was filled with joy. He did not know why he felt so happy, he was sitting there dying from blood loss, and was happy. Gumball snapped back into reality, he was not going to die, not yet. Gumball inspected his wound further and saw that if he pulled the machete out slowly, while feeling for organs, he could maneuver the blade out of his stomach. Gumball gritted his teeth, and grabbed the handle of the machete. He slowly pulled, easing the blade gently out of his stomach. Finally, the machete was out of his stomach, and Gumball quickly covered his now gushing wound. He looked around and his eyes fell on a dead Taliban soldier by him. Gumball ripped a large piece of cloth from the dead man's robes, then wrapped the cloth around his stomach line, being careful not to wrap it around too tightly.

Gumball slowly got up after attending to his injuries, and picked up the machete, then walked to where his assault rifle laid on the ground. He inspected his gun. It would have to do for now. Gumball began to scavenge for the ammunition to his m16, and found that there was still a fair amount of ammo left. Gumball placed the sixteen magazines of ammo on his person, then slid the machete through his belt. Gumball picked up his gun, and was about to head out, then decided against it. He knew he was in no condition to go find his fellow marines, or even to simply scout out the surrounding area. Gumball needed to rest, and he propped up the chair by the window, and sat down, his hands were on the trigger of his rifle when he fell asleep. Gumball woke up the next morning to an immense feeling of pain in his stomach region, and felt another presence in the room with him. He looked to where the source of his unease was coming from, and brought his rifle to his shoulder as he did so. The moment he moved, pain filled every fiber of Gumballs body, and he fell to the ground, shuddering uncontrollably in pain. Blackness filled his vision, and he passed out. Gumball woke up to a child staring at him, wearing the same robe that his attackers did. Gumball jumped up, and found that he still had the machete at his belt, and whipped it out. Then he stopped, for there was fear in the child's eyes.


End file.
